This page will contain images about Sailor Moon, as they become available.Sailor Moon
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Sailor Moon (in full, 美少女戦士セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, literally Beautiful young girl soldier Sailor Moon) is the name of a famous 18-volume shōjo manga by Naoko Takeuchi serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi in Japan, and of many of the spinoff series — in multiple media, including anime, musical theatre, video games and recently tokusatsu (live action with special effects) — which have been based on it. The story of the metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a destroyed kingdom that spanned the Solar System, and the evil forces they battle.
At 200 episodes, aired in Japan on a first-run basis between March 1992 and February 1997, the Sailor Moon anime is the longest magical girl anime metaseries and generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls rather than ones working alone. Although many shows have followed the same formula, most are generally considered to be relatively uninspired and none have ever been the marketing giant this anime has become. Because of its adapations in numerous countries, Sailor Moon was arguably one of the most famous anime in the world.
The anime's first two series contain stories that vaguely revolve around the backdrop of the Silver Millennium (an ancient kingdom on the moon) and the superficially-related kingdom in the future. The third series is quite dark in comparison, while the fourth is sometimes considered overly light and silly. The metaseries enjoyed renewed interest in its final fifth series, although its reuse of many plot devices bothered some fans.
The most-recently-produced tokusatsu series is known officially as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (usually abbreviated by fans to simply PGSM), and it is the first series in the franchise to have an official English title. Allowing for deviations, it more closely followed the original manga than the animated metaseries in its first few episodes, but proceeded to follow a significantly different storyline than those of the manga and anime later in the show. The first episode of the series aired on October 4, 2003, with its 49th and final episode airing on September 25, 2004. Two movies of the tokusatsu are scheduled; the first, Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Special Act, due for Region-2 DVD and VHS release in Japan on November 26, 2004, and Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Act Zero, due for DVD and VHS release in Japan on March 25, 2005.
Although many concepts in the manga, anime and tokusatsu show overlap, there are many notable divergences. Fans caution viewers not to always use information from either source to explain the other.
Naoko Takeuchi amalgamated many seemingly disparate themes in the creation of Sailor Moon. Combining her love of space with Greek myth, Roman myth, Japanese elemental themes, and Meiji Era sailor-fuku school uniforms, she managed to fuse the popular magical girl and sentai genres and create a completely new and original idea.
The premise is as follows: 14-year-old junior high student Usagi Tsukino discovers that she is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, the princess of an ancient Moon kingdom. Her role as defender of the Solar System has been reissued to her in light of the reemergence of the evil force that originally destroyed her kingdom, the Silver Millennium. (Note: in the original Japanese versions, Silver Millennium is the name of the moon kingdom. In the English dub, "Silver Millennium" seems to refer to the kingdom and the time when it existed.) She fights using the identity of Sailormoon ("Sailor Moon" is used in the English dub, while both "Sailormoon" and "Sailor Moon" appear in the Japanese manga and anime-related sources). As the series progresses, Sailormoon is reunited with other reincarnated defenders—the princess's guardian soldiers. She is also reunited with her lover, the prince of Earth, who serves equally as romantic interest and primary protector.
The Japanese Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) anime metaseries is composed of five separate series:
There are three Sailor Moon movies, and these have independent stories that are separate from the series. The movies fall in the general timeline of each of the three middle series (R, S, and SuperS).
There are a few specials as well: Sailor Moon SuperS Special, and Sailor Moon SuperS Plus: Ami-chan no Hatsukoi (Ami's First Love), both of which take place around the SuperS series. Additionally, there are several Sailor Moon soundtracks available.
The musicals, usually referred to collectively as Seramyu, are a series of live theatre productions that have played over 800 performances in some 26 musicals since 1993. The producers generally follow and expand upon plot concepts presented in the anime and manga, however there are several original plot lines.
The series generally runs twice a year, in the winter and in the summer. In the summer the only venue for the musicals is the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however in the winter it does also tour to the larger cities in Japan.
The lastest incarnation of the series, "The New Legend of Kaguya Island" [Revised Edition] (新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版>, Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (kaiteban)), will be staged in January of 2005. After the January 2005 show, the series will then go on a "short hiatus," according to the current producer, BMO.
Main Article: English Adaption of Sailor Moon Anime
On August 28, 1995, a dubbed North American version of the anime began its run in Canada on YTV, and on September 11 of the same year, Cartoon Network in the United States began airing the program. Many changes were made to the basic storyline; it was rewritten to conform to the much tighter regulations of American television to young children. Purist Sailor Moon and many anime fans familiar with the Japanese original disliked it, although may grudgingly admit it introduced them into anime.
The manga was translated into English by TOKYOPOP (then Mixx). The manga was initially syndicated in MixxZine but was later pulled out of that magazine and put in a monthly comic book format. Sailor Moon later made an appearance in SMILE magazine. Both MixxZine (which later became TOKYOPOP magazine) and SMILE have been discontinued.
By and large, the TokyoPop names match the Cloverway names with a smattering of the original Japanese names, to avoid confusion for American audiences (with the exception of Usagi Tsukino, given the nickname "Bunny"). The manga is flipped to read left to right. As Sailor Moon was Mixx's first title, the series is considered to be the most poorly translated of all of Mixx's manga.
The manga was released as three series based on the story arcs, Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon SuperS, and Sailor Moon StarS. The original version of the manga published by MixxZine was in comic book form (approx. 10 by 6.5 inches) and also held the Chix Comix logo. These comics range from acts 1 through 35 (discontinued) and had color covers but black and white pages. The current graphic novels sold by TokyoPop range from 1 - 11 (Sailor Moon), 1 - 4 (SuperS), and 1 - 3 (StarS) and also have color covers and black and white pages.
TOKYOPOP has expressed interest in re-releasing the Sailor Moon manga, but for licensing problems, it cannot do so as of December 2004.
Possibly due to the large number of variances in the localizations, the original Japanese names are more commonly used in the U.S. The poor quality of the early dub and the somewhat bad first impressions TokyoPop (then Mixx) left on fans at first may also have contributed to a general disdain for the American names.
"Black Moon Clan" (R): Death Phantom | Demande | Saphir | Esmeraude | Rubeus | Ayakashi Sisters
The names shown after the Japanese names are those used in the North American translations. See the individual articles and the article on the Sailor Senshi for more detail.
In the North American dub, all of the different groups of antagonists are lumped together under the generic term "Negaverse", without really differentiating between them. This changes somewhat by the S and SuperS series, where the antagonists are seen in their proper (if renamed) groups.
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This changes somewhat by the S and SuperS series, where the antagonists are seen in their proper (if renamed) groups. 2000, TV movie directed by Peter Medak. In the North American dub, all of the different groups of antagonists are lumped together under the generic term "Negaverse", without really differentiating between them. 1999, directed by Simon Curtis. See the individual articles and the article on the Sailor Senshi for more detail. 1969, directed by Delbert Mann. The names shown after the Japanese names are those used in the North American translations. 1935, directed by George Cukor. "Black Moon Clan" (R): Death Phantom | Demande | Saphir | Esmeraude | Rubeus | Ayakashi Sisters. Sandberg.
TOKYOPOP has expressed interest in re-releasing the Sailor Moon manga, but for licensing problems, it cannot do so as of December 2004. David Copperfield is a British comedian. The current graphic novels sold by TokyoPop range from 1 - 11 (Sailor Moon), 1 - 4 (SuperS), and 1 - 3 (StarS) and also have color covers and black and white pages. David Copperfield is an American illusionist. These comics range from acts 1 through 35 (discontinued) and had color covers but black and white pages. David Copperfield is a quasi-autobiographical novel by Charles Dickens. 10 by 6.5 inches) and also held the Chix Comix logo. The original version of the manga published by MixxZine was in comic book form (approx. The manga was released as three series based on the story arcs, Sailor Moon, Sailor Moon SuperS, and Sailor Moon StarS. As Sailor Moon was Mixx's first title, the series is considered to be the most poorly translated of all of Mixx's manga. The manga is flipped to read left to right. By and large, the TokyoPop names match the Cloverway names with a smattering of the original Japanese names, to avoid confusion for American audiences (with the exception of Usagi Tsukino, given the nickname "Bunny"). Both MixxZine (which later became TOKYOPOP magazine) and SMILE have been discontinued. Sailor Moon later made an appearance in SMILE magazine. The manga was initially syndicated in MixxZine but was later pulled out of that magazine and put in a monthly comic book format. The manga was translated into English by TOKYOPOP (then Mixx). Purist Sailor Moon and many anime fans familiar with the Japanese original disliked it, although may grudgingly admit it introduced them into anime. Many changes were made to the basic storyline; it was rewritten to conform to the much tighter regulations of American television to young children. On August 28, 1995, a dubbed North American version of the anime began its run in Canada on YTV, and on September 11 of the same year, Cartoon Network in the United States began airing the program. Main Article: English Adaption of Sailor Moon Anime. After the January 2005 show, the series will then go on a "short hiatus," according to the current producer, BMO. The lastest incarnation of the series, "The New Legend of Kaguya Island" [Revised Edition] (新・かぐや島伝説 <改訂版>, Shin Kaguyashima Densetsu (kaiteban)), will be staged in January of 2005. In the summer the only venue for the musicals is the Sunshine Theatre in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo; however in the winter it does also tour to the larger cities in Japan. The series generally runs twice a year, in the winter and in the summer. The producers generally follow and expand upon plot concepts presented in the anime and manga, however there are several original plot lines. The musicals, usually referred to collectively as Seramyu, are a series of live theatre productions that have played over 800 performances in some 26 musicals since 1993. Additionally, there are several Sailor Moon soundtracks available. There are a few specials as well: Sailor Moon SuperS Special, and Sailor Moon SuperS Plus: Ami-chan no Hatsukoi (Ami's First Love), both of which take place around the SuperS series. The movies fall in the general timeline of each of the three middle series (R, S, and SuperS). There are three Sailor Moon movies, and these have independent stories that are separate from the series. The Japanese Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) anime metaseries is composed of five separate series:. She is also reunited with her lover, the prince of Earth, who serves equally as romantic interest and primary protector. As the series progresses, Sailormoon is reunited with other reincarnated defenders—the princess's guardian soldiers. In the English dub, "Silver Millennium" seems to refer to the kingdom and the time when it existed.) She fights using the identity of Sailormoon ("Sailor Moon" is used in the English dub, while both "Sailormoon" and "Sailor Moon" appear in the Japanese manga and anime-related sources). (Note: in the original Japanese versions, Silver Millennium is the name of the moon kingdom. Her role as defender of the Solar System has been reissued to her in light of the reemergence of the evil force that originally destroyed her kingdom, the Silver Millennium. The premise is as follows: 14-year-old junior high student Usagi Tsukino discovers that she is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity, the princess of an ancient Moon kingdom. Combining her love of space with Greek myth, Roman myth, Japanese elemental themes, and Meiji Era sailor-fuku school uniforms, she managed to fuse the popular magical girl and sentai genres and create a completely new and original idea. Naoko Takeuchi amalgamated many seemingly disparate themes in the creation of Sailor Moon. Fans caution viewers not to always use information from either source to explain the other. Although many concepts in the manga, anime and tokusatsu show overlap, there are many notable divergences. Two movies of the tokusatsu are scheduled; the first, Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Special Act, due for Region-2 DVD and VHS release in Japan on November 26, 2004, and Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Act Zero, due for DVD and VHS release in Japan on March 25, 2005. The first episode of the series aired on October 4, 2003, with its 49th and final episode airing on September 25, 2004. Allowing for deviations, it more closely followed the original manga than the animated metaseries in its first few episodes, but proceeded to follow a significantly different storyline than those of the manga and anime later in the show. The most-recently-produced tokusatsu series is known officially as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (usually abbreviated by fans to simply PGSM), and it is the first series in the franchise to have an official English title. The metaseries enjoyed renewed interest in its final fifth series, although its reuse of many plot devices bothered some fans. The third series is quite dark in comparison, while the fourth is sometimes considered overly light and silly. The anime's first two series contain stories that vaguely revolve around the backdrop of the Silver Millennium (an ancient kingdom on the moon) and the superficially-related kingdom in the future. Because of its adapations in numerous countries, Sailor Moon was arguably one of the most famous anime in the world. Although many shows have followed the same formula, most are generally considered to be relatively uninspired and none have ever been the marketing giant this anime has become. At 200 episodes, aired in Japan on a first-run basis between March 1992 and February 1997, the Sailor Moon anime is the longest magical girl anime metaseries and generally credited with popularizing the concept of a sentai (team) of magical girls rather than ones working alone. The story of the metaseries revolves around the reincarnated defenders of a destroyed kingdom that spanned the Solar System, and the evil forces they battle. Sailor Moon (in full, 美少女戦士セーラームーン, Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, literally Beautiful young girl soldier Sailor Moon) is the name of a famous 18-volume shōjo manga by Naoko Takeuchi serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi in Japan, and of many of the spinoff series — in multiple media, including anime, musical theatre, video games and recently tokusatsu (live action with special effects) — which have been based on it. She transforms into Sailor Venus. Minako Aino (愛野 美奈子) / Mina Aino - She acted on her own as Sailor V before joining the other Sailor Senshi. She transforms into Sailor Jupiter. Makoto Kino (木野 まこと) / Lita Kino - The very tall tomboy who lives alone because her parents died in an airplane crash. She transforms into Sailor Mars. Rei Hino (火野 レイ) / Raye Hino - A miko who attends a Catholic private school, although she is Shinto. She transforms into Sailor Mercury. Ami Mizuno (水野 亜美) / Amy Mizuno - The genius best friend of Usagi. He transforms into Tuxedo Mask. Mamoru Chiba (地場 衛) / Darien Shields - Usagi's boyfriend and destined true love reincarnate. (Her nickname in the English manga is Bunny.). She transforms into Sailor Moon. Usagi Tsukino (月野うさぎ) / Serena Tsukino - The main character of the series, Usagi is a ditzy schoolgirl with a heart of gold. Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn Sailor Stars (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Sailor Stars). Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn SuperS (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS) (The "S" after the "Super" does make it plural as you can tell in the way that it is pronounced (suupazu).). Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn S (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S) ("S" stands for "Super"). Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn R (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R), which is actually two series. According to the Memorial Song Box booklet, "R" stands for "Romance," "Rondo," "Return," etc.; the R for the first series is usually said to stand for "Return" and the R for the second series is said to stand for "Romance.". Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn (Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) (usually referred to by fans as the "Classic" series, to avoid confusion with the entire metaseries). |